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Jake Owen juggles two sides: Living the wild life as a hubby and dad

(Yahoo!) - For lack of a simpler way to put it: There's Jake Owen, and then there's Jake Owen.

How else to describe a musician who one day is racing go-karts against professional NASCAR drivers, getting in trouble with the cops the day before his wedding, and playing a show the same day doctors removed the tip of his finger (more on that later)...but at the same time, updates his social media with tons of shots of his adorable baby daughter, takes his family along on tour, and looks up to his mom and dad as role models.

I’ve always been the kind of person that’s always, you know, I live on the wild side a little bit," Owen says with a grin. "I just like taking chances and living life to the fullest."

That he certainly has done in the past two years. Owen supercharged through 2012, not only with his musical career (he scored his second No. 1 on the country chart with "Alone With You" early in the year, followed by two more chart-toppers), but hitting a bunch of life milestones in quick succession. In April, he surprised girlfriend Lacey Buchanan — and delighted his audience — with an onstage proposal. One month later, the couple married in his Florida hometown. And then, on Thanksgiving Day, Owen became a proud papa to daughter Olive Pearl. From then it was straight back into the studio to work on his fourth album, Days of Gold, which released its title track lead single in August 2013.

Owen says this rapid-fire chain of events is just part of his nature. "I never felt like my life has gone by too quickly. If anything, I’m always pushing it to happen faster," he explains. "I want things to happen quicker. I’m just an impatient human being. I’ve learned that from my father...my dad was always impatient growing up, about everything, and I’m the same way. If I want something, I want it now. I get irritable if I don’t have it."

Although to some it may appear that Owen rose to country-music fame almost overnight, the truth is he's been in the game for a while, and ironically his career is the life situation that has forced him to learn a modicum of patience.